Issue - meetings

To update Joint Committee Members on the final financial review of GwE’ budget for the financial year 2022/23.  The report also focuses on the significant financial variances, with Appendix 1 containing the full financial information.

To update Joint Committee members on the final financial review of GwE's budget for 2022/23, noting the significant financial variances. 

The report was presented by the Head of Finance Department, noting that these were not Final Accounts but rather a clearer picture of GwE's financial history. He noted that the Joint Committee was being asked to make three decisions:

To note and accept the Joint Committee Revenue Income and Expenditure Account for
2022/23.

To approve a transfer from GwE reserves to finance the 2022/23 overspend of
£138,871, after considering the main variances between the budget and actual
expenditure.

To approve the final financial position for 2022/23 which is the basis of the GwE
statutory financial statements for the year which have already been produced,
certified and published by the host authority's Finance Department before the
statutory date of 31 May.

Reference was made to the report that explains in detail the financial variances, noting GwE's overspend position under some headings, underspend position under others and some headings being quite close to the budget.

It was noted there was a slight underspend against employee costs. On the other hand, there was an overspend against the Building heading, mainly due to less income for the use of buildings than that noted in the budget, as building rental had not picked up as expected.  An underspend against Transport was also noted.  There was some overspend on some specific projects; however, this actually arose from using a build-up of balances.

The Joint Committee asked, noted and questioned as follows:

It was confirmed that grants had been shared with schools which will ultimately lead to results.

It was confirmed that professional learning money had intentionally been given back to schools due to the implications of the new curriculum, and that the money will provide an initial foundation for schools.

IT WAS RESVOLVED

To accept the update on the financial review of GwE's final budget for the 2022/23 financial year, noting the significant financial variances.